"I stopped sleeping. I close my eyes and see emptiness. Or rather, I see nothing, one black frightening square. What I tried to do: - I drank milk with honey, - I showed physical activity (I pumped my abs to get tired), - I counted sheep (by the way, I don’t understand who this helps), - I turned on intellectual programs with a political bias, - I even read a medical reference book and NOTHING at all! I also see emptiness and can’t sleep.” A colleague complained to me two days ago. Of course, insomnia comes for a reason and it is advisable to find the reason. However, now we’re not talking about that, but about what to do when you can’t sleep! Here are some effective methods that work: 1. We close our eyes and imagine a dark closet or room where there is only darkness. If this is difficult for you, mentally pick up a piece of paper and paint it black so that there is nothing but blackness before your eyes. It is very important! Then a ray of light appears from above in a dark closet, just a tiny ray. You, being in this closet, are drawn into it with all your might. Just imagine this! Within 3 minutes you should fall asleep, no matter what insomnia torments you. If some other thoughts still pop into your head (“well, I should fall asleep now”), just gently let them go (give them the opportunity to float and go away). Your goal: get out of the closet, aiming for the beam.2. In the second method, instead of darkness, imagine a transparent blue background. Everything around is in a soft blue color. You don't see yourself. If it’s difficult, take the piece of paper again and paint it blue. Against this background, draw a slightly darker triangle (dark blue). Draw it, mentally dissolve it. Draw again and dissolve again, and so on until you fall asleep. Sleep will come quickly. If you have thoughts again (“what the hell am I doing,” and “in general, the triangle is not even,” etc.), gently remove them and let them go. Your goal: Draw a triangle that constantly dissolves. 3. Mentally plant thoughts on a cloud. A fairly simple and effective method called “Turn off your brain.” As soon as you stop thinking, your brain will take it as a command to hang up. We don’t imagine anything, we don’t think about anything. As soon as thoughts arise, we immediately put them on our “cloud” and let them go away from our tired head. Many people say that they like to imagine not emptiness, but space. They imagine the universe and how they fly into the abyss, leaving thoughts and images on the clouds. Physiological secrets of the fight against insomnia: 4. Many people do not know, but a hormone called Melatonin is responsible for sound sleep. It is produced by our brain and its greatest release into the body occurs from 11 pm to 3 am. Melatonin allows us to stay young for a long time, which is where the saying comes from that sleep is beauty and health. Light interferes with the normal production of Melatonin. Therefore, it is better to fall asleep in complete darkness with curtains drawn or a sleep mask. Blue light from a TV or laptop screen slows down its production, which can lead to insomnia. 5. Ventilation. Why a window at night? Air is oxygen, and oxygen helps cells breathe. Have you ever noticed that when entering a forest, an excess of oxygen (especially for city residents) can sometimes make you feel dizzy? Oxygen has this effect, relaxing and lulling. Therefore, it is better to fall asleep in a well-ventilated room or with an open window.6. Food. Every nutritionist advises not to eat 2-3 hours before bedtime. But not one of them advises not to eat after six. Imagine what happens to your body when you stop eating at six in the evening and go to bed seven hours later? He experiences panic and stress. He begins to intensively stock up instead of sleeping. We also don’t need overeating, since the body, instead of resting, devotes all its energy to digesting food. It’s better to have something to eat or drink kefir 2 hours before bedtime or tea with raspberries. And, of course, find the psychological cause of insomnia. All these methods are emergency, but do not solve the problem. Ask yourself when did it start.